The Mysteries of London, Vol. IV — page 400: what you’re looking at

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ee MYSTERIES OF LONDON. THE “Shall it be here?” demanded Vitriol Bob. “Yes,” responded’ Jack Rily ; clasp-knife, which was already open, from his pocket, he sprang with a savage howl upon his enemy. But Vitriol Bob was also prepared with his sharp weapon; and catching the Doctor’s right arm with his left band, he, inflicted 2 wound upon the shoul- der upon his foe. Then the two men closed com- pletely upon each other—and the death-struggle commenced ! Tt was an appalling spectacle,—the knives flash- ing in the pure moon-light—and the cyes of tha miscreants glaring savagely, while they writhed in each other’s embrace, savage howls bursting from them at short intervals. In less than a minute they wore covered with blood: but the naturo of the contest only permitted them to inflict hideous gashes and not decisive wounds upon cach other. But suddenly Jack Rily’s foot slipped, and he fell backward—bringing how- ever his adversary down upon him: for the left hand ofeach held a firm grasp upon the collar of tho other. .”~s they thus tumbled, Vitrio! Bob endeavoured to plant his knife in the breast of his antaronist— hut the spring of the wezpon broke, and the blade suddenly closing us it glaneed over the Doctor’s shoulder, cut through its owner's fingers to the very bone. A yell of mingled rage and pain escaped him: but thechances were atthe same moment equalised by the fact of Rily’s clasp-knife escaping from bis hand. The death-struggle was now continued by mcre brute force; and the Doctor succeeded in getting uppermost. At the same time he scized upon Vit- rio] Bob’s nose with his large sharp tecth and bit it completely off—in spite of the almost super- human cfforts of the other to resist this savage attack, Yelling horribly with the pain, and with his countenance bathed in blood, Vitriol Bob once more got his foc beneath him; and tho Doctor cchoed those appalling cries of agony as ho felt the fore- finger of his adversary’s left hand thrust into one of his eves. Frightful—terrific—revolting was the contest at this crisis,—the two miscreants writhing, Struggling, convulsing like snakes in each other's grasp,—and the ferocious process of gouging inflict- ing the agonies of hell upon the maddened Jack Rily. . “T'was done: the cye was literally torn out of its focket; but tho pain excited the Doctor to the most tremendous efforts in order to wreak 2 deadly ven- geance upon his foe. And as they rolled over on the blood-stained sward, Rily’s hand came in con- tact with tho knifo which ho had ero now lost; and clutching it with asavage yell of triumph, he plunged it into Vitriol Bob’s throat. The miscreant, mortally wounded, rolled over on the grass with a gurgling sound coming from between his lips; and Jack Rily was immediately upon him, brandishing tho fatal weapon. Then, at that moment, as tho moon-light fell fully upon the countenance of Vitriol Bob, as he gazed up at his victorious onemy, what fiendish hate—what impotent rage—what diabolical malig- hity wero depicted upon those distorted features and expressed in every Jineament of that blood- smeared face,—a face rendered the more frightful by tho loss of the nose, and drawing his 395 “Who will return to London this morning, Bob?” demanded Jack Rily, scarcely able to articulate, so parched was his throat—so agonising was tho pain in the socket whenco the eye had been torn out. “Ah! you can’t answer—but you know well enough what the reply should be!” Vitriol Bob made a sudden and desperate effort to throw lis enemy off him: but ho was easily over- powercd—and in another moment the Doctor drove the sharp blade of the knife through the man’s right cye, deep into the brain, So strong was the convulsive spasm which shot through the form of Vitriol Bob, that the Doctor was hurled cemplectely off him: but all danger of a renewal of the contest was past—Jack Rily’s enemy was no more! Tho conqueror lay for somo minutes upon the sward, so exhausted that it almost seemed possible to pivo up the. ghost at a gasp: it appeared, in fact, as if he retained a spark of life within himsolf by his own free will—but that wore he to breathe cyen too hard, existence would becomo extinct that moment. d\ sensation of numbness came over him, deaden ing the pain which his cyeless socket occasioned him; and for nearly ton minutes a sort of dreamy repose stole upon the man, the incidonts of the night becoming confused-and all his ideas jumbliny together pell-mell. But suddenly—swift as the lightning darts forth from the thunder-cloud upon the obscurity of a stormy sky—a feeling of aj] that had happened and Where he was sprang up in the Doctor’s soul; and half rising from his recumbent posture, he gazed wildly sround with the visual organ that was still left. ~ The motionless corpse of his slaughtered cnemy Jay near;—and tho moon-light rondcred the ghastly countenance fearfully visible. The pain in the socket now returned with re- nowed force; and the Doctor, raising himself up with difficulty, began to drag his heavy limbs slowly away from the scene of a horrible coatcst and a dreadful death. Ife was wounded in many places; and the anguish Which ho now again cndured through the loss of his oye, was maddening him. At tho bottom of tho field there was a pond; and Jack Rily, on reaching the bank of the stagnant poo}, felt that he could at that moment givo all the money he possessed for a singlo glass of pure water, A draught from that pond would be delicious: but how was ho to obtain it? Hoe might stoop down, and endeavour to raise it with his hand—or he might oven fill his hat: but the bank was stcep all round—and the wretched man was so exhausted and enfecbled that he knew he should fall in and most likely be suffocated. Seating himself upon tho bank, he maintained his ono oye fixed upon tho pond in which the moon- bears were reflected; and at the expiration of a few iainutes he resolved te mak* an attempt to assuage his burning thirst, evon though tho conse- quences should be fatal. Stooping cautiously down, he succecded in filling his hat; but as he was drawing it up, he over- balanced himscif, and fell headlong into the water. Tho pond was deep: but Jack Rily managed to drag himself out;—and on gaining the bank he fainted. Ilow long he remained in a senseless state, ho ——— ere ee ee (C(O) (C DOO <S LL (SO)